Why do people buy SUVs?

[MuskIsACnt]

I need a new car and I’ve always had a small car but it seems every other car now is an SUV, so I’m wondering why and whether I need one.

The boot space is often the same as smaller cars, they’re more expensive and arguably harder to park. Am I missing some great benefit that I should be considering? Or does driving a big car just make people feel big (I used to drive a Luton van and that made me feel big)?

I had one when I had a business I needed to tow for. But it was a beefy proper 4x4 that could go through anything. Driving through a load of mud or sand is great fun.

What I dislike is the faux 4x4’s which so many people like. I have a very capable 5 series touring which has a load of boot space but drives brilliantly, I don’t like the wallowy ride you get round corners in a high car.

I think that’s exactly it tho, if it is the same sort of cost it could be extortionate. I don’t know how much tax on fuel is but it’s affordable (ish). For VED, DH was looking at getting a pick up (for tip runs etc) and the tax alone was over £50 a month which when he doesn’t drive much just simply isn’t worth it. All older SUVs are at this level of tax/VED. Newer ones not so much apart from the over £40k part. He chose a 5 series that was £20 or £30 a year.

I’m not a tax man / woman but if I was looking at this
The rates would be lower for electric and hybrid cars / mile
Higher for high polluting cars / mile ( including vintage cars )

Then multiply by the number of miles
If you drive a lot you pay more than those who don’t

It might get people thinking twice before they jump in the car for a short journey they could walk

An outlander, hybrid. It's amazing I love it, great for my local country roads!

It could but it also could lead to a lot of vehicles losing value and being unsellable meaning people cannot afford a much needed car to get to work, they then go into the scrap heap and can't be recycled for other polluting cars or melted down for new parts (that's an assumption, no idea) while price on less polluting cars goes sky high. EU6 engines have been around for quite a while now and are not that polluting so keeping them (and older) cars going is quite environmentally friendly due to the amount of resources to create them.

All of that is by the wayside as they will continue to pay fuel tax. It's only when we are all electric and that income source is gone. By then all the cars will have their own blackboxes

I disagree, I’ve driven an SUV for the last 25 years, I’d never go back to a normal car purely and simply because of the ease of getting in and out. Early on, with a young DC, it was so much easier to put them into car seats. We occasionally used DHs Passat ( company car) but it was such a pain. We are both tall. Then company car rules changed and DH could no longer use it domestically.

Now both DH and I need easier access. I have back problems and DH had a stroke recently.

My latest car has a sports back so looks like a coupe but with the height. I’ve never wanted a Range Rover style SUV, they are very unreliable so opted for less premium makes.

I have a standard license and there are plenty of smaller SUV type cars that seat 7-8 (one has left home, so 7 seats is fine now). I drive a Mitsubishi Outlander at present. More like a car in driving but large and has AWD capability.

Didn't know Tesla did a 4WD.

But this is already the case as fuel for petrol and diesel cars is so much more expensive per mile travelled. Many people can't afford expensive electric cars and those in rural areas often need to use a car as there are no viable alternatives. That all needs sorting first.

Not everyone lives in London love

@PreferMyAnimals I just googled it and you can drive a minibus but not for hire, if passed after 1997 so I take that back. I thought it was at all.

Is the outlander 7 seats? From looking there are some 8 seaters available but they are more like vans.

This is AI generated so subject to errors but matches my looking at some sites.

SUVs

• Land Rover Defender 130: A top 8-seater car in the UK
Vans

• Volkswagen Multivan: An 8-seater car
• Ford Transit Custom Kombi: An 8-seater car
• Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric: An 8-seater car
• Renault Trafic Passenger: An 8-seater car
• Nissan Primastar Combi: An 8-seater car
• VW Transporter Shuttle: A van that can seat up to nine people

Electric vehicles
• Toyota Proace Verso Electric: An 8-seater car with a battery range of up to 214 miles 

• Citroen e-Spacetourer: An 8-seater car with a battery range of up to 214 miles 

• Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric: An 8-seater car 

• Mercedes eVito Tourer: An 8-seater car 


Other cars

• Mercedes V-Class: A top 8-seater car in the UK

My current Outlander is top of the range and 7 seater. I used to drive a minivan when I needed 8.

A car with a range of 214 miles won't do it for me. There are no charging points in the mountains and wilds.

I was going to say, I never heard of an 8 seater outlander but I see now why you said one had left… catching up 🤣

yes I’m the same. I regularly do 3/400 miles in a day and don’t want to add time on to that sitting at a charger. Even 20 mins as they suggest. 214 is also likely 180 max. Less in the cold. I’m still pro diesel. My 330e has nothing on my old diesels.

I won't even have the option of a charging station where I go. I don't plan to be stranded out in the wilds overnight because I ran out of charge. Even if someone did stick a charging point at a trailhead, what is someone else is using it?

We are going to have to look beyond petrol options but I don't think electric is 'it'.

Not yet. I would consider one with a 500+ range and I don't think we are too far from that. The problem is if manufacturers don't see a need for that and so don't produce it. I imagine such long treks are not common amongst drivers. I only went hybrid because I had to. It's not suitable for my needs. What range would you consider?

What I will say, I went to snowdonia and said I was glad I didn't have electric to my colleague who loves electric and he looked on Zapmap and there were a few close by. It would have been a 3 or 4/10 hassle but not the end of the world.

SUVs pose more risk to other road users than standard cars. We all know that cars are both dangerous to other road users and polluting. Surely we should look to drive the safest (considering other road users as well as ourselves) and least polluting cars that meet our needs and we can afford. Obviously if you need an SUV for your rural job or due to a disability then it makes sense to own one, but most people do not need to drive a SUVs. I find the rise in SUVs at a time when we should be trying to decarbonise and encourage cycling really scary.

We’ve already discussed that
If you read the thread.

As another poster said, it's a status symbol which actually means nothing because 95% of them are financed and not owned.

Most cars now aren't true SUVs. They're just taller estates and hatches.

2 cars. 1 estate 1 suv. Same manufacturer one is an eco lie engine but still only a teeny bit less polluting so SUVs are not the devil everyone thinks.

It's not a status symbol for me. If I didn't need the 4WD capacity and cover tough terrain, I'd be driving a Corolla or something similar.

Also this

No idea OP. They’re awful

Heavier cars are more polluting and SUVs are generally heavier. Assume you are probably right that smaller SUVs are less of a polluting than huge ones.

@Satlie2019 and most people only have the small ones. Range Rovers and the like are still relatively elite and less seen.

They are still being manufactured by companies that historically made them.

All we are seeing is companies that never made estates to begin with becoming more prevalent ie Tesla and Land Rover,

Volvo still make estates as do most of the other traditional estate manufacturers such as Ford, Mazda, BMW, Audi, Skoda, Seat, Toyota, Mercedes etc.

Even Mini are now making estates.